Alone
by TaterWriting
Summary: What would it be like to go from the center of attention to bitter loneliness. Some would let it get to them and destroy them through their own emotions. Good thing our Hero has great friends to help him. Especially another certain blond. First Story


Heyo!

This is my first fan fic. I've read for a long time but never have written. To help me start off I'm basing my story off another fan fic called "The Old You" by ACDCxCARMINE. It's an incredible read and I highly advise you to check it out. I've contacted the author and explained what I wanted to do and I have their consent to do so. Feel free to criticize my work, story, grammar, and whatever else as you see fit! All I ask is that it's constructive and helpful in some sort of way. Sorry in advance for poor formating Anyway, Enjoy the first Chapter!

Ch 1.

Not as Alone

The air was cool and flowing this beautiful morning in Konoha. Children are excitedly heading to their classes at the academy as their parents wave their goodbyes. Many people were just now waking up to the crystal blue sky that awaited them outside their window. The sky was almost the same blue as a certain knuckle-headed ninja's eyes. At least, those eyes were usually blue enough to rival the sky. Recently however, they were more matte grey than crystal blue, though only a few have noticed any difference.

Naruto was laying in his queen-sized bed silently thinking to himself.

'It's been a while since I left the house hasn't it? It's been… two weeks I think? That's not really healthy…'

He slowly got up to look out the window and watch the leaf village and its hustle and bustle.

'I need to do something like go out for food, maybe clean, literally anything besides be silent and alone in my apartment' he thought as he looked around his apartment.

His room was colored white and dark grey and had a very modern look to it. Every piece of furniture and the floors were grey while the walls where a crisp but not bright white. The bed was unkempt and many empty ramen cups sat on the bedside table next to a lamp.

'At least it looks like someone actually lives here.' As he walked into the living room/kitchen he flinched.

It had the same color scheme and design as his room. It was very spacious and consisted of a very large TV with a even larger leather sectional couch about 15 feet away. There was a gaming system hooked up to the TV with about a dozen games neatly stacked next to it. There was also a large glass coffee table between to TV and couch with a control sat on it. The gaming systems were a new invention in the ninja world yet Naruto quickly lost interest in the new fad. Though it seemed to be anyone's dream living room it was apparent no one had used it in a long time made obvious by the thick layer of dust coating everything in the room.

The kitchen was about the same as any kitchen in an apartment is. As Naruto approached the fridge and opened it, he was unsurprised to find nothing in it. Nothing at all. No milk. No food. Not even water. The pantry was also vacant excluding the few cup ramens that were left.

" Yup. Looks like the supply is running low," he whispered to himself and sighed, "I really don't want to but I know it's the healthy thing to do."

Naruto shambled back to his bedroom and shed his clothes he'd been wearing for several days and took a quick shower. It was more of a rinse so he didn't stink as terribly when he went out. After applying deodorant and brushing his teeth Naruto headed to his closet. He quickly picked out a pair of black pants and orange shirt.

Once Naruto stepped out he quickly flinched and shielded his eyes against the bright sun he had not seen for a short period. He walked out of his apartment complex and began walking towards the nearest supermarket. He did his best to avoid being seen by the public, today was not the day he wanted to deal with a mob of people wanting to talk to him.

'This'll be really quick,' he thought to himself as he walked inside the supermarket and started to head to the aisle that had ramen. He proceeded to grab as much ramen as he could and place it in a plastic bag he grabbed earlier.

'I'm just going to buy a shit ton of cup ramen and then I can go ho-'

His thoughts were interrupted by a young woman who walked past him. 'Shit! I hope she didn't notice who I was..I really don't wanna talk to anyone.' Naruto began to quicken his pace hoping the woman didn't notice him.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" the women asked in a soft yet surprised tone.

'Oh for the love of-! Okay, this can turn out okay! If I keep walking like I heard nothing they might think I'm not me.' Naruto thought and tried his best to seem undeterred by the women.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" the women said again, this time in a significantly louder voice.

'Cant she just leave me alone? I'm really not in the mood,' he thought and continued to walk away until the woman called out a third time.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI I KNOW YOU ARE NOT IGNORING OF ME OF ALL PEOPLE!" she yelled in a booming voice the entire store could most likely hear.

Naruto was paralyzed at the thought of who could be yelling at him because he knows only knew 2 young women who would yell at him like that for such a small reason. 'Okay, it's either Sakura or-'

"Oh..hi Ino san. Guess I didn't notice you there huh?" Naruto said in a slightly scared tone as he turned to look at Ino.

'GOD DAMNIT! Out of all the people I could've seen today she's one of the few who will pretend to care the most! She's probably really busy and is just going to waste her time on me.' he thought to himself with a pained expression on his face.

The platinum haired girl was dressed casually, wearing a pair of black leggings and a purple tank-top. She began walking toward him at frightening speed with killer intent painted on her face. However, to Naruto's surprise Ino didn't smack him into the ground and instead wrapped him up in a slightly painful bear hug.

"You're so lucky it's been months since I've seen you! Otherwise you would have had to go see Sakura," she said in a genuinely happy yet serious tone.

Even though Naruto thought she was wasting her time on him, he couldn't help feeling a bit happier knowing someone might actually be happy to see him. Ino took a step back to get a good look at the usual ray of sunshine and found herself concerned to say the least. Instead of a bright blond color Naruto's hair had become a dull gold and was matted and his usual proud posture was nowhere to be found. This was not Naruto standing before her. This was someone completely different. This was a man that looked beaten and alone. Ino had no idea why Naruto looked so down and although she was never particularly close to him she still hated seeing her friend like this. Anyone would hate to see such a pillar of happiness start to crumble. After a few seconds Ino started to speak up again.

" So, uh, what brings you out and about today?" she asked trying to hide her concern.

"I'm just out getting some food and other things," Naruto said giving his best fake smile and trying to hide that he just has cup ramen.

Ino, looking straight through his expression looked quizzically at the bag Naruto was carrying.

"Oh yeah? Hopefully you're eating relatively healthy. It'd be a shame if the hero of the village was eating nothing but, oh I don't know, cupped ramen?"

A bead of sweat started to form on Naruto's face.

"Ino san, I'm not the same kid from the academy ya know! I keep a healthy diet with plenty of stuff that's good for you," Naruto said trying to keep a serious face and tone.

In reality, Naruto had eaten nothing but cup ramen the past month or two with a few exceptions.

Ino, wise to Naruto's lies and the contents of the bag, squinted her eyes and attempted to see exactly what was inside the bag Naruto was holding. Knowing she would chastise his choice of food for the next few weeks Naruto held the bag behind his back and in the air as Ino tried to see what it contained. The two looked comical as Naruto was easily keeping the bag away from Ino.

"Just show me what's in the bag already!" Ino whined as she tried to out maneuver one of the Ninja who literally sealed away god.

She knew she was going nowhere fast with this type of approach, especially against someone like Naruto. Ino stepped back away from Naruto and placed her hands behind her back where Naruto couldn't see her weave signs.

"Ino san, I promise I'm eating alright but really need to get home!", Naruto pleaded," I , uhhhh, haven't eaten all day and if you're that worried about my health you should let me go home and cook up something healthy!"

Naruto knew his excuse was beyond terrible but it was all he could come up with on the spot. Ino sighed at his "excuse" and relaxed her body.

"Okay Naruto san, I believe you," she said in a suspiciously sweet voice," but at least let me help you pick some healthy ingredient"

As Ino ended her sentence a mischievous grin grew across her face. Before Naruto could even voice his suspicions Ino quickly formed her family's signature hand seal

" **Mind Body Switch Technique** "

When Ino opened her eyes in Naruto's body she saw her own sprawled out on the floor.

'I should probably find somewhere to place myself so no one freaks out and thinks I'm injured. I could probably go sit myself down in an area where there's chairs and make it look like I'm sleeping.'

As Ino began to pick up her body she was surprised at how light she was.

'I knew I was light. I mean a girls gotta watch her weight but I didn't know I was THAT light! It's like I'm just a 10-pound weight.'

As she threw her body over her shoulder and grabbed Naruto's bag she rolled up his sleeve and wasn't surprised to find Naruto was definitely a bit more than strong.

'He definitely hasn't slacked off on his training during his time off and he's definitely stronger than a majority of ninja but it's weird to experience it for myself. Anyway, once I find myself a nice place to "sleep" I'll do Naruto a favor and pick out some things besides cupped ramen,'she thought looking into Naruto's bag and seeing nothing but various kinds of ramen.

'Sheesh. This stuff is horrible for you. I'll make sure to pick out some super healthy stuff for him! Maybe that'll perk him up. A good meal. Hmm….'

Ino was deep in thought as she walked off to find a sitting area and was coming up with quite a plan to help her friends mood. You know what they say,

"A good meal always fixes everything!"

Well, maybe just Choji says that.

End Chapter

Well I hope you guys enjoyed it! I know it probably isn't that good but if you see any obvious mistakes or have any advice feel free to submit a review! Also, I know some things feel unexplained but don't worry because they will be explained as the story continues. Thanks for reading!


End file.
